Rell releases $800K for MHS fuel cell

SLOAN BREWSTER

Published
12:00 am EST, Thursday, January 3, 2008

MIDDLETOWN -- A fuel cell at Middletown High School that will generate electricity, heat the pool and save taxpayer dollars will be completed by March and then -- after appropriate testing -- will be ready for the opening of the school in the fall.

This week, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced the release of $800,000 to help pay for costs related to the on-site installation of the fuel cell.

"Middletown, in 2005, was one of the first municipalities in Connecticut to commit to a clean energy campaign," Rell said, according to a press release.

"The town is a shining example of a proactive environmental steward, and we are pleased to help Middletown move forward with this installation project."

The city of Middletown has entered into a contract with UTC Power for the installation of the 200-kilowatt fuel cell.

The grant funds will be used for costs associated with mechanical, electrical and plumbing work to integrate the fuel cell's electrical supply and the heat it will generate into the school.

Fuel cells are one of the cleanest power generating technologies available today and are more than twice as efficient as the electrical grid when the fuel cell's exhaust heat is put to work, the release read.

Because the cell will generate its own electricity, it will reduce electric costs at the new school, said Rell spokesman Adam Liegeot.

"She really feels that Middletown has been a great leader in terms of energy efficiency projects," Liegeot said. "It's good news for taxpayers."

He explained the amount of power the cell will generate as that used "in the middle of the night when there is no one in the building."

Middletown director of facilities Kendall Jackson estimated that the fuel cell will provide approximately 20 percent of the school's total electrical load at a cost less than purchasing the electricity off the power grid.

"About 80 percent is purchased off the grid; it's only going to produce about 20 percent," Jackson said.

Additionally, the heat generated from the fuel cell's operation will be used to heat the school's swimming pool and supplement the hot- water boilers.

The project will cost a total of $1.6 million. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund contributed $940,000. Additional grants of $1.7 million bring the city's cost for the project to about $14,096, Jackson said.